A Princess of Mars is an Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction
novel, the first of his famous Barsoom series. It is also
Burroughs' first novel, predating his Tarzan stories. He wrote it
between July and September 28, 1911, going through four working
titles; initially, he was going to call it My First Adventure on
Mars, then The Green Martians, Dejah Thoris, Martian Princess, and
finally Under the Moons of Mars. The finished story was first
published under the last of these titles in All-Story as a six-part
serial in the issues for February-July 1912. For the serial
publication, the author's name was given as "Norman Bean";
Burroughs had chosen the pseudonym of "Normal Bean" as a type of
pun stressing that he was in his right mind, being concerned he
might suffer ridicule for writing such a fantastic story. The
effect was spoiled when a typesetter changed "Normal" to "Norman"
on the assumption that the former was a typographical error. The
story was later published as a complete novel under the present
title by A. C. McClurg in October 1917.
John Carter, an American Civil War veteran, goes prospecting in
Arizona and, when set upon by Indians, is mysteriously transported
to Mars, called "Barsoom" by its inhabitants. Carter finds that he
has great strength on this planet, due to its lesser gravity.
Carter soon falls in among the Tharks, a nomadic tribe of the
planet's warlike, four-armed, green inhabitants. Thanks to his
strength and combat abilities he rises in position in the tribe and
earns the respect and eventually the friendship of Tars Tarkas, one
of the Thark chiefs. The Tharks subsequently capture Dejah
Thoris,Princess of Helium, a member of the humanoid red Martian
race. The red Martians inhabit a loose network of city states and
control the desert planet's canals, along which its agriculture is
concentrated. Carter rescues her from the green men to return her
to her people. Except for some jewelry and harness for weaponry,
all of the planet's races seem to eschew clothing. Burroughs
describes Dejah Thoris thus: And the sight which met my eyes was
that of a slender, girlish figure, similar in every detail to the
earthly women of my past life....Her face was oval and beautiful in
the extreme, her every feature was finely chiseled and exquisite,
her eyes large and lustrous and her head surmounted by a mass of
coal black, waving hair, caught loosely into a strange yet becoming
coiffure. Her skin was of a light reddish copper color, against
which the crimson glow of her cheeks and the ruby of her
beautifully molded lips shone with a strangely enhancing effect.
She was as destitute of clothes as the green Martians who
ccompanied her; indeed, save for her highly wrought ornaments she
was entirely naked, nor could any apparel have enhanced the beauty
of her perfect and symmetrical figure. Subsequently Carter becomes
embroiled in the political affairs of both the red and green men in
his efforts to safeguard his princess, eventually leading a horde
of Tharks against the city-state of Zodanga (the historic enemy of
Helium). Winning Dejah Thoris' hand, he becomes Prince of Helium,
and the two settle down happily until a failure at the Atmosphere
Plant which sustains the planet's waning air supply endangers all
of Barsoom. In a last-ditch attempt to stave off doom, Carter
seemingly sacrifices his own life in restoring the facility to
functionality.
He awakens back on Earth, left to wonder what has become of his
family and adopted world.